A retired American astronaut has apologised for praising Winston Churchill as “one of the greatest leaders of modern times” after he was criticised by social media users.

Scott Kelly, who commanded three expeditions to the International Space Station, prompted an angry response from those who said that Churchill was responsible for the severity of a famine in 1943 in the Bengal province of what was then British India, in which more than two million people died.

In the initial post on Twitter, which came after Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed as a US Supreme Court judge, Mr Kelly said: “One of the greatest leaders of modern times, Sir Winston Churchill said: ‘In victory, magnanimity.’ I guess those days are over.”

Mr Kelly said he was going to “educate himself”ALAMY

After receiving a slew of critical…

Want to read more?

Subscribe now and get unlimited digital access on web and our smartphone and tablet apps, free for your first month.